I took a blogging break this past month, and jetted off to Europe for some Fitness, Family, and Fun, European style.  A month spent removed from the “Everyday” routine, exploring and making memories with my family provided some much needed perspective and clarity.

I know you were probably hoping for tips for traveling with kids, packing, or even reviews on places we stayed…..But before we get into any of that I need to share some important insights with you…..so read on for my insights after a month long blogging break.

The month away made me realize I need to make some changes. 

I love writing and the creative outlet and insight it provides me., but social media, more specifically Instagram has been a thorn in my emotional side for a while now.  I have been losing literally hours of my life to it over the last year.  Most recently I found myself  comparing my profile to what other bloggers are doing and questioning pretty much everything I do.

A month off with limited WIFI and social media pressure really opened my eye to the feeling and motivations I have using social media, including the freedom I felt being away from it.  To me this is a huge take away.

I was doing things with my family without any intention of professionally posting it.  Instead of putting energy into content for my business channels I was messaging with friends and family, and sharing our adventures.

I have been noticeably happier, not that I am normally unhappy, but I often felt stressed or strained. It was shocking to realize how much my attention and mental energy was being sucked away each day. 

Things I Missed:

• The comforts of home more specifically my Bed: 4.5 weeks is a long time to be away from home.
• My Cat: As annoying as her nocturnal concerts can be she  is my first Fur Baby.  I often found myself calling her to bed while we were away.
• Driving: More specifically the time I use while driving to pluck those pesky chin hairs.
• Reading:  books with pages….for fun
• The creative outlet writing my posts provides.
• Running and teaching fitness:The European heat wave, and trying to get a family of 5-7 organized for a day of sightseeing  didn’t leave much time for fitness. The time I did have was mainly spent sampling local wines and cheese ( I have no regrets). 🙂

Things I didn’t Miss:

• The pressure of Social media posting and engagement statistics.
• Constantly feeling overwhelmed and anxious with posting content……Which in the end nobody really engages with.
• Taking a pictures of my workouts to share on social media….. just because there isn’t photo confirmation doesn’t mean it isn’t regularly happening.

Hello….is there anybody out there??  It’s Me…

Without internet access you can’t help but look around……whether it was the metro in Paris, the bus in Italy, or the SBB in Switzerland it was always the same… Most people didn’t say hi because they were all glued to their screens, and if they weren’t then they had their earbuds in which is worse then crossed arms for approachability.

Which got me to thinking, if the roles were reversed and I was on the Skytrain, would I have been on mine???  Absolutely!   I have been so overloaded with these superficial exchanges that I have been missing the simplicity of eye contact, a pleasant conversation, or a simple handshake.

A Sponsored post that made me FURIOUS

Social media has allowed people and companies to push their agendas and their messages in front of us with barely any way to avoid it.  Anyone can make up any sort of promotional braggadocious bio claiming to be an expert or influencer.

A sponsored post for an app called FaceTune appeared on my Instagram feed……The opening line was something to the effect of, “Why your Friends selfies looks so much better than yours.” The short video outlined the app “tuning” a face…widening and whitening the smile, smoothing the skin and removing freckles.  Literally reshaping the facial structure including Jawline, cheekbones, and nose.  No longer just for celebrities… you too can now complete digital plastic surgery …..WTF??? My face doesn’t need “tuning” but something in my life clearly could…..my Instagram Feed.  After this I went on a ruthless unfollowing streak…..

Thank you Facetune for squashing any thoughts I had about changing my feed to include a custom filter like other bloggers…..I will keep my real life filter and untuned face.  I will stick with makeup, Victoria Secret push up bras, and my hair extensions on those particularly dirty hair days.  Guess I’m just an old fashioned girl….and if my untuned face and unfiltered photos means my followers will go down……then they weren’t the follower I was looking for anyways.

Conclusion:

I took mental budget of my life.  What I mean is that in order to get the most out of my limited time, energy, and money I will be getting rid of the obligations, events, or things that annoy me. Thereby making room for things that I enjoy spending my time energy and money on.  Simply put, I am organizing what I have left in the form of time, energy and money and choosing to spend those resources more wisely.  Not only on things I NEED to do but on the bonus-level things I WANT to.

I am not saying I plan to quit blogging or social media, and I am not suggesting anyone do that. But I suggest spending some time thinking about  what motivates you, and how it makes you feel.

I am scaling back to one blog post a month, and will no longer be stressing about engagement statistics. I posted to twitter and FB for feedback regarding the monthly newsletter and literally got no response….so it seems that can go too…I will continue to post my blogs, and share it with my SM followers. Rather than just focusing on numbers I will focus on building a community of like-minded individuals to share Fitness, Family and Fun ideas and inspiration with. I hope you will join me. 🙂